Farmers attending the Welsh Dairy Show in Carmarthen later this month will be encouraged to seek advice about any mental health issues they may have on the Farmers' Union of Wales stand.

The union has allowed Hywel Dda Health Board's primary care mental health service for Carmarthenshire - who run stress control classes across the county - to share their stand during the show at the United Counties Showground, near Carmarthen, on Tuesday October 19.

The service provides health promotion information around common mental health issues affecting everyone, such as sleep problems, worrying, stress, depression, panic attacks, and obsessive compulsive disorder.

"Due to the rurality of Carmarthenshire a large part of their work is directed at the rural population including the farming community," said FUW's county executive officer Meinir Bartlett.

"They have a permanent stand at Carmarthen Mart where they offer advice and information. The service is a new initiative and a significant challenge with the stigma attached to mental health issues as well as the culture that the farming community perpetuates.

"By having a presence at various farming and rural events across the county they hope to have some impact towards increasing awareness."

A representative of Davis Meade Property Consultants, one of the leading firms of chartered surveyors and valuers in the country dealing with agricultural dispute resolution ranging from landlord and tenant advice to compulsory purchase negotiations, will also be on the FUW stand during the show to discuss issues with individual farmers.

The steep decline in Welsh dairy farmers will continue so long as supermarkets continue to take a bigger share of the profits from milk sales, the Farmers' Union of Wales warned today.

New figures released by DairyCo revealed dairy farmers in Wales and England received an average 23.8p per litre for their milk during 2009/2010 compared to 25.8p the previous year. But the retailers' share of the price went up from 18.8p to 22.4p.

"These figures underline our fears for the traditional Welsh dairy farm which has declined sharply in numbers from 2,727 in 2006 to 2,094 last year," said the union's milk and dairy produce committee chairman Eifion Huws.

"And compounding the problem is the fact that the average farmgate price paid to Welsh farmers is actually much lower than the Wales-England average, because the majority of our milk goes into the cheese market."

"We now have to ask whether the prices paid to Welsh dairy farmers are sufficient to give them a sustainable return to enable them to invest in their business and continue to supply milk in an efficient and profitable manner.

"The Welsh dairy farm has been the backbone of community life in much of rural Wales for years and years but these figures don't provide any comfort for the future.

"I fear that the decline in dairy farm numbers will continue until there is a change of heart by the retailers and they start paying producers the kind of prices they badly need to allow them to fully meet their costs and invest for the future."

The Welsh Assembly Governments’ controversial Glastir scheme application packs and pre-populated application forms will be sent out today Monday October 4 to those farmers who expressed an interest in the scheme on their 2010 Single Application Form (SAF).

The scheme will be introduced in January 2012 and will replace the existing four schemes - Tir Gofal, Tir Cynnal, Tir Mynydd and the Organic Farming Scheme.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales Land use and Parliamentary Committee Chairman, Richard Vaughan, said today that “whilst the Union continues to have serious misgivings about aspects of Glastir, including the lack of information available on the targeted element of the scheme, it encourages farmers to look carefully at their options to avoid being disadvantaged at a later stage especially when details of the Targeted Element become clearer.”

The packs sent to farmers will include detailed maps of the land applicants intend to enter into Glastir and will display certain land characteristics which should help applicants choose their options.

“Farmers should take advantage of the Glastir surgeries to fully assess the implications of the scheme on their businesses and to consider specialist help if they are unsure of their ability to qualify, said Mr Vaughan”.

The Farmers' Union of Wales has appointed a multi-media journalism graduate of Bournemouth University as its press officer.

Anne Birkett, former student of Aberaeron Comprehensive School and Aberystwyth's Coleg Ceredigion, lives at Bwlchllan, near Lampeter. In her last job she was responsible for organising events with a film production company in Poole, Dorset.

"Having made the decision to move back to Wales to be closer to my family, who all live and work in Ceredigion, I am very excited to take on the new challenge of press officer for the FUW," she said today.

FUW director of public relations Peter Roberts said he was looking forward to working with Anne who has experience of print, broadcast and online media.

"Having worked in the newsroom of the Daily Echo in Bournemouth and for Heart FM radio, I am pleased that she has a strong knowledge of the media," he added.